City Year to Host National Leadership Summit 2013: In School & On Track

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Corporation for National and Community Service CEO Wendy Spencer, and Superintendent Alberto Carvalho of Miami-Dade County Public Schools among leaders gathering to advance the role of national service in education reform

Washington D.C. (May 10, 2013) — More than 400 education, business, and philanthropic thought leaders will convene next week to discuss the unique and targeted role national service can play in addressing the nation’s dropout crisis. City Year’s 2013 National Leadership Summit - In School & On Track will be held Monday, May 13 to Wednesday, May 15 in Washington, D.C.

“We must work together to ensure that every child has the opportunity to meet their potential – it’s what’s right for our children, it’s crucial to the health of our economy and it’s essential to our nation’s future,” said Michael Brown, CEO and Co-Founder of City Year. “National service has a unique and powerful role to play in keeping students in school and on track. Our National Leadership Summit convenes dedicated leaders from across sectors who are passionate about scaling City Year’s impact to reach our bold Long-Term Impact goal and help end the dropout crisis.”

City Year’s Long-Term Impact goal includes scaling our service from 24 to 38 cities and reaching 700,000 students a year by 2023. On Tuesday, school district leaders from across the country including school superintendents from Miami-Dade County, Sacramento, Milwaukee and Jacksonville will take part in panel discussions on the future of national service and the potential for breakthrough partnerships to help children receive equal access to quality education.

"We're calling this the 'Year of Wow' for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, because of remarkable progress in student achievement," said Alberto Carvalho, Miami-Dade County Superintendent and winner of the Broad Prize for Urban Education. "Partnerships with education innovators like City Year allow for a level of individualized attention our students need to succeed. City Year corps members offer an invaluable extra set of hands in the 15 Miami-Dade schools where they serve."

The summit will also feature remarks from Corporation for National and Community Service CEO Wendy Spencer; South Africa's former anti-apartheid activist and Kagiso Media CEO Murphy Morobe, who was instrumental in the founding of City Year South Africa; and, Vice President of Community Investment of Comcast Corporation and President of the Comcast Foundation Charisse R. Lillie, among many others.

“We believe the business community has a responsibility to invest in solutions like City Year that prepare our youth to participate in the 21st Century economy,” said Charisse R. Lillie, Vice President of Community Investment of Comcast Corporation and President of the Comcast Foundation. “We look forward to the stimulating discussions on ways we can work together to ensure every child receives a quality education, regardless of where they live.”

City Year’s National Leadership Summit is sponsored by Comcast and NBCUniversal and CSX Transportation. Highlights include:

City Year is an education-focused, nonprofit organization founded in 1988 that partners with public schools to provide full-time targeted intervention for students most at risk of dropping out. In more than 20 communities across the United States and through two international affiliates, our teams of young AmeriCorps leaders support students by focusing on attendance, behavior, and course performance through in-class tutoring, mentoring, and after school programs that keep kids in school and on track to graduate.